Cappuccino Soul

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Why they didn't get this woman to play a primary role in the film production of West Side Story is not really beyond me, I know why, but my goodness did they miss a chance to put some real power behind the song "Somewhwere" in the film. I've been singing this song to my daughter Gigi in a really broad way, which makes her laugh, but when I showed her how Reri Grist, the original singer, sang this song on broadway, Gigi was captivated.

I don't know a whole lot about opera, but one Youtube commenter says that Grist is extremely underrated. He said: "... for those that don't know, she's a coloratura soprano ... but look at how she's singing those low notes so rich and full."

For those of you who have seen a staged version of this musical or the film with Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno, decide for yourself. I can only speak for myself. When I hear this version, I immediately put this as the number one version to listen to. It not only made me want to find out more about Reri Grist -- it made me really listen to and hear the lyrics of the song. That's the ultimate compliment to a singer. If he or she can make you pay attention to the words and the intentions behind the music.

Brava Reri Grist. Bravissima!

SomewhereMusic by Leonard Bernstein/Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

There's a place for us, Somewhere a place for us. Peace and quiet and open air Wait for us Somewhere.

There's a time for us, Some day a time for us, Time together with time to spare, Time to look, time to care, Some day!

Somewhere. We'll find a new way of living,

We'll find a way of forgiving Somewhere . . .

There's a place for us, A time and place for us. Hold my hand and we're halfway there. Hold my hand and I'll take you there Somehow, Some day, Somewhere!

From Wikipedia:

Reri Grist (February 29, 1932) is an American coloratura soprano, one of the pioneer African-American singers to enjoy a major international career in opera. She was born in New York City, grew up in the East River Houses Project, attended the High School of Music and Art and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Queens College, City University of New York. In her early teens she performed on Broadway in small roles and in musicals along with Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Lawrence Tibbett and Eartha Kitt, while gaining a solid training in voice through private study with Claire Gelda. Her first opera engagement was as Madame Herz in a concert performance of The Impresario by Mozart. Her first staged, quasi-operatic engagement was in 1956, as Cindy Lou in Oscar Hammerstein's Carmen Jones. She performed the role of Consuelo in the original production of Leonard Bernstein's classic musical West Side Story in 1957, introducing the haunting song "Somewhere" to the public.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Writer and producer, Kalamu ya Salaam, a son of New Orleans, wrote this poem in the late 1970s after he was sent to Haiti as a journalist. Instead of a news article, Kalamu wisely created this poem, a true piece of art and prophecy.

Tomorrow's Toussaintsby Kalamu ya Salaam

this is Haiti, a stateslaves snatched from surprised masters,its high lands, home of thisworld's sole successfulslave revolt. Haiti, wherefreedom has flowered and flownfascinating like long neckedflamingoes gracefully feedingon snails in small pinkishsunset colored sequestered ponds.

despite the meannessand meagerness of lifeeked out of eroding soiland from exploited urban toil, thereis still so much beauty here in thisland where the sea sings roaring a shoreand fecund fertile hills lull and rollquasi human in form

Sunday, January 17, 2010

All go-go music, a Washington D.C. percussion-driven creation with Latin and African flavors, makes you want to get up and dance. Part of the fun is that musicians include the audience in just about all of the songs -- go-go requires that the band talk to the crowd and that the crowd talk back. If this ingredient is missing, then it's not go-go. With his CD Your Game... Live at the 9:30 Club, Chuck Brown keeps the go-go swing alive by inspiring his audience to contribute vocally to the recording.

The 70-year-old Brown, known as the godfather of go-go, manages to inject a youthful funky vibe into this performance, with other go-go icons like Little Benny and Big Tony joining in on the fun. Some of the songs go on too long (and I mean on and on and on), as almost all go-go songs do sometimes, but overall, this recording captures the spontaneity and spirit that go-go bands typically offer their crowds. Go-go bands have been known to inspire girls to dance so hard at pool parties that they strip while dancing to the beat.

With "One on One," "It's Love" and "Go Go Swing," Brown and company hype up the crowd so much that the audience doesn't need prompting to sing whole sections of the songs. "One on One" is Brown's most spirited offering. Cherie Mitchell on the organ introduces the song with such passion and spirit that it's like listening to a musician play at a church revival.

The audience members' loud vocal response to the song shows how intensely they identify with its message. Between catchy trumpet riffs and bass guitar licks, the crowd sings such lyrics as, "If you want to deal with the world then you've got to learn to deal with yourself. Once you learn to love yourself you can love everybody else."

When Brown and his crew give shout outs to people from sections of D.C., and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs, the crowd goes wild, especially on "Go Go Swing." Brown's remake of Jill Scott's "It's Love," which originally had a go-go vibe, brings the song closer to pure go-go. Cherie Mitchell's vocal delivery is so raw and harsh, she almost sounds like a man. She has to match the hard driving congas and drum beats that are such an integral part of go-go. You can feel the crowd dancing.

With this live recording, Brown, who helped create the go-go sound over 25 years ago, shows that he can still make the crowd sing and swing.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Editor's Note: This post about Félix Morisseau-Leroy appeared on Cappuccino Soul last Spring, but now is a good time to take another look at this Haitian writer who had great rhythm and spirit. To my surprise, the piece attracted the attention of Leroy's grandson, Albert Morrisseau-Leroy, who I've been in contact with via e-mails since last summer, occasionally. With this post I'm able to include an added treat -- a poem, written in French, by Albert.

One of my Haitian students W is very bright and scored 100 on one of the comprehension tests that we gave her, but she has been very timid about speaking in English. I thought maybe the poetic language of one of her homegrown poets would help to loosen her up a bit. W read the poem below by Haitian poet, Félix Morisseau-Leroy beautifully! Morrisseau-Leroy is credited with getting Creole recognized as one of Haiti's official languages.

I'm Taking a Little Trip to the Moon by Félix Morisseau-Leroy

(Translated from Haitian Creole by Jack Hirschman and Boadiba)

I'm taking a little trip to the moon I've had it with life down here Around here everything's sure hard I'm on my way to the moon They tell me up there there's no such thing As good and bad people There's no stupid guys or wise guys No city or mountain people All people are people on the moon All people speak one language I can't hack it on earth anymore Civilization's exhausting me Civilization's scaring me Wherever I turn I see People killing people Civilization was finished a long time age People there have forgotten that awful time I'm taking a little trip to the moon They tell me there's no king there No county sheriff No justice of the peace No bailiff No monseignor I just gotta make that voyage to the moon They tell me it's beautiful there, just beautiful Nights are clearer than daytime There's no time for a guy to sleep No days for work or for play Nights you watch the earth aglow Brighter than the sun And stars as close as fireflies on trees There's no heat No cold No misery No mud Everyone's forgotten about war Forgotten about civilization The way the old forget colic Measles and teething I'm gonna live on the moon Evenings I'll tell the kids stories I'll tell them that the whole time the earth turns There's a huge woman An immense female werewolf They call civilization Crushing young men like ants.

From Wikipedia:

Félix Morisseau-Leroy (also known as Feliks Moriso-Lewa) was born on March 13, 1912. He was a Haitian writer who wrote poetry and plays in Haitian Créole, the first significant writer to do so. By 1961 he succeeded in having Créole recognized as an official language of Haiti, after expanding its teaching in schools and use in creative literature. Morisseau also published works about Haitian Créole and Haitian French literature. He worked internationally, encouraging the development of national literature in post-colonial Ghana and Senegal. In 1981 he settled in Miami, Florida, where he was influential in uniting the Haitian community around Créole and encouraged its study in academia. He died on September 5, 1998.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Editors Note: Cappuccino Soul published this article initially on February 14, 2007. I'm still waiting to hear when this film, about one of Haiti's finest sons, will be released.

Danny Glover makes his directorial debut with Toussaint, a film about the life of Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint L’ouverture. Filming for the epic story is scheduled to start in late April or early May with a sizzling cast including Don Cheadle as Toussaint, Mos Def, Angela Bassett, Chiwetel Ejiofor and others. This film is scheduled to be released sometime in 2009.Written by Vijay Balakrishnan and Glover’s producing partner, Joslyn Barnes, Toussaint will be shot in Mozambique and South Africa. The movie tells the story of the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) and the life of L’ouverture, who established Haiti as the first independent black Republic by leading a successful slave uprising against the French, Spanish and British imperial armies. Although L’ouverture was eventually captured and imprisoned by the French, his name is still uttered with pride by many Haitians and other Africans in the diaspora.

In her play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, Ntozake Shange puts these words in the mouth of Lady in Brown, a young girl who raves about her newfound hero, Toussaint L’ouverture.

(excerpt from For Colored Girls…)

Lady in Brown

i knew I wasn’t sposedtabut I ran inta the ADULT READING ROOM& came acrossTOUSSAINT ...

TOUSSAINT waz a blk man a Negro like mama saywho refused to be a slave& he spoke French& didn’t low no white man to tell him nothingnot napoleannot maximilliennot robespierre

TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTUREwaz the beginning uv reality for mein the summer contest forwho colored child can read15 books in three weeks i won & raved abt TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTUREat the afternoon ceremony

waz disqualified cuz Toussaintbelonged in the ADULT READING ROOM& I cried& carried dead Toussaint home in the bookhe was dead & livin to mecuz TOUSSAINT & themthey held the citadel gainst the Frenchwid the spirits of ol dead Africans from outta the ground

Thursday, January 14, 2010

In honor of the resilient and brave people of Haiti, here's a poem by a master poet and lover of her people everywhere, Ntozake Shange.

Bocas: A Daughter's Geographyby Ntozake Shange

i have a daughter/ mozambique i have a son/ angolaour twinssalvador & johannesburg/ cannot speakthe same languagebut we fight the same old men/ in the new world

we are so hungry for the morningwe're trying to feed our children the sunbut a long time ago/ we boarded ships/ locked indepths of seas our spirits/ kisst the earthon the atlantic side of nicaragua costa ricaour lips traced the edges of cuba puerto ricocharleston & savannah/ in haitiwe embraced &made children of the new worldbut old men spit on us/ shackled our limbsbut for a minuteour cries are the panama canal/ the yucatanwe poured thru more sea/ more ships/ to manilaah ha we're back againeverybody in manila awready speaks spanish

the old men sent for the archbishop of canterbury"can whole continents be excommunicated?""what wd happen to the children?""wd their allegiance slip over the edge?""don't worry bout lumumba/ don't even think boutho chi minh/ the dead cant procreate"so say the old menbut I have a daughter/ la habanaI have a son/ guyanaour twinssantiago & brixton/ cannot speakthe same languageyet we fight the same old men

the ones who think helicopters rhyme with hungerwho think patrol boats can confiscate a peoplethe ones whose dreams are full of none of ourchildrenthey see mae west & harlow in whittled white cafesnear managua/ listening to primitive rhythms injungles near pétionvillewith bejeweled benign nativesice skating in abidjanunaware of the rest of us in chicagoall the dark urchinsrounding out the globe/ primitively whisperingthe earth is not flat old men

there is no edgeno end to the new worldcuz I have a daughter/ trinidadI have a son/ san juanour twinscapetown & palestine/ cannot speak the samelanguage/ but we fight the same old menthe same men who thought the earth waz flatgo on over the edge/ go on over the edge old menyou'll see us in luanda, or the rest of us in chicagorounding out the morning/we are feeding our children the sun

From A DAUGHTER'S GEOGRAPHY (St. Martin's Press, 1983)

Please click here to see photos of Haiti and the aftermath of the earthquake. Also, click on the links that show "how to help."

Monday, January 04, 2010

My friend Annette came up with a clever idea for people, like me, who don't have health insurance. She said, in lieu of presenting a health insurance card to providers when we need medical attention and can't afford to pay, we should present a "No Health Insurance Declaration" card that says:

Although I do not have health insurance, I hope that you will still remain humane.

Alicia

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Alicia Benjamin (formerly Alicia Benjamin-Samuels)

I was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Delaware (Wilmington area). I'm a mother, writer, performer, director, editor, and teacher. I love books, film, performance art, the visual arts, and my beautiful daughter.